DURBAN // India are firmly, and rightly, resisting the temptation to have any knee-jerk reactions to the 141-run drubbing handed out to them by South Africa in the first one-day international of the three-match series.
The manner in which things came together for the home team – South Africa made their highest score of the year followed by a simply irresistible effort from Dale Steyn – left India with nowhere to hide.
India’s batsmen had plans, and as Virat Kohli was at pains to point out, none of them were running scared. Rohit Sharma, coming into the game on the back of an ODI double hundred and two Test hundreds, stuck to his game, but playing out a bowler when you are chasing 359 is not a realistic option.
Shikhar Dhawan got a steepler from Morne Morkel that simply cannot be replicated in the India nets as no one in the ranks has the height or the pace to do so.
Yuvraj Singh was out before he could get himself in and the pressure was on by the time Suresh Raina strode out to the crease.
In the seven-match ODI series at home against Australia in October-November, India pushed Raina up to No 4.
The thinking behind that move was sound: should Yuvraj not be around to take that crucial spot in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2015 through injury or loss of form, Raina would have experience under his belt should he be called upon to move up the order.
However, the shuffle did not work for Yuvraj who was making a comeback to the team.
Now, however, both Yuvraj and Raina are having to make the mental adjustment needed to perform at their peak in their preferred positions.
The importance of each batsman in the top order knowing exactly where he would be batting, and planning his innings on that basis, was not lost on Kohli, the most impressive of India’s batsmen in the first ODI.
“It is quite important for people in the top order to have a fixed batting slot, unless you have a big opening partnership and the guys in the lower order shuffle around,” Kohli said.
“In that situation you would see Dhoni coming in early if there are just five to six overs to go. That sort of thing can happen.
“I think the top four are usually set positions in one-day cricket because it’s not as short a format as T20 cricket.
“You need to plan your innings. You need to know how to go about the way you bat. The top four guys have to be well prepared mentally and have a plan in mind for themselves so they can say to themselves, ‘I’m going to bat at this position and bat a certain way in a specific situation’. That’s pretty important in one-day cricket.”
With India’s schedule being so packed, they have little time to acclimatise to conditions outside of international matches, and this too has an impact.
South Africa go into the second game with seam bowler Vernon Philander expected to replace spinner Imran Tahir. South Africa have also released Graeme Smith to go home to Cape Town and prepare for the upcoming Tests.
The only change India will be contemplating is getting a bit more pace into their attack, which would mean that Mohit Sharma could make way for Umesh Yadav. While the bowling tweak was worth looking at, the batting line-up needs stability, and India are keeping the faith for the moment.
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Anand Vasu is the managing editor of Wisden India.
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